European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 8, 1968, Darmstadt, Hesse Thursday augut 8, 1968 the stars and stripes Page t planning discipline built russian Power by Ira c. Eaker representatives of the . Indulgence Community recently testified before committees predicting that Rusia May soon reach parity with the United state in strategic forces primarily nuclear delivery capability. Russia Long has had tremendous superiority in conventional forces at least 90 first line Divi Sions to our 19. Her naval Power is growing to menacing proportions. Her sub Marine strength for example is now about twice ours numerical ports May not be far away. Since the Gross National product of the user is about half ours some have been sceptical of estimates of russian military Power and others have asked How she could achieve this stature while spending about half As much on armaments As we do. The search for the answer to this question May be pertinent to our Security if not to our very survival. Russia since world War ii has shown careful selectivity in weapons systems and All other a Many of our Able naval Lead elements of military Power. In it predict a determination by Italy. Emphasized ground reds to move into the vac forces maintained Large armies us created by the retirement of British sea Power from the near and far East. Late red adventures in Egypt and other Arab states suggest the possibility that a prime russian dream since Peter the great warm water sea with limited air and sea Power largely in supporting roles since such forces were considered Nec Essary to control the 60 million Middle european Peoples held captive behind the Iron curtain. Such forces also protected rus Sia s Long land frontiers West South and East. By establishing priorities she built weapon systems in sequence not in parallel. She could do this safely since the United states the Only nation with Superior military resources had assured her that if would never strike the first blow. On the other hand russian leaders often have boasted of their determination to destroy us at a chosen time and Opportunity. . Leadership has been forced therefore during two decades of the cold War to defend against All red capabilities. At the conclusion of world War ii we had a commanding Lead in bomber forces. At first Russia began to build a bomber Force and she also installed extensive antiaircraft defences. Be ginning in the late 1940s the russian scientific and military leaders advised their political leaders that the quickest and cheapest Way to achieve military dominance might be through intercontinental ballistic missiles icbms and space weapons. The remarkable red missile and space achievement As Many icbms As the United states late this year plus the fractional Orbital bombing system have been dramatic results. The russian system of state planning not Only has permitted selectivity in armaments but it has subordinated All other National goals and the Effort of the skilled work Force has been scheduled accordingly. There Are no strikes in Russia and working hours and wages there would be considered intolerable Here. The Kremlin Early perceived that scientific superiority could be the key to world dominance and it has for years turned out More than three times the num Ber of .-produced scientists. There it is National planning Strong leadership emphasis on scientific education and a disciplined hard working people. I am not suggesting that we adopt their political system but i am hopeful our people will recognize How the user has achieved its growing military posture and what this can mean to our future Security. We demonstrated in two world wars that our people can Rise to challenges and achieve miracles under our system. Free Enterprise need not apologize even now. Five million Farmers for example feed 200 million americans and other millions around the world 150 million soviet Farmers scarcely feed 300 million russians. I believe the decisive Factor in the present struggle ultimately May be the relative Quality of leadership As it so often has been in crises of the past. Cd 1963. New Sony inc. Battle of the discordant polls in the Battle of the discordant polls Richard Nixon and George Gallup have both had to admit defeat Gallup with some Grace joining in a com Munique of honorable surrender to Lou Harris Nixon without Grace by pretending that the Battle was Only a game All the time. The fact is that polls do mean something especially if you focus their Nelson Rockefeller s hour of Triumph for what it May be Worth came with the news that the shift had been strongly in direction and that today Max Lerner his he would win handily Over either Democrat while Nixon would clearly lose. It is the Good news of Sal vation that Rockefeller had Long been waiting for on which his whole Campaign was based. It reduced the margin of Nixon s Delegate advantage at Miami Beach. But will it Cost Nixon the nomination this column was written before balloting be . One answer is that Nixon has his acceptance speech All written. If there is still any doubt it will depend on How Strong is each of the two pulls operating on the republicans the pull toward a big cloy strategy which will a peal to the pivoted Northern Industrial states and the pull to Ward a Southern strategy aimed at winning the deep South and the new South from the threat of George Wallace party. That is what the drama is about at Miami Beach the inner drama of the us of War in the minds of the delegates. For All the Battle cries and the wave show of certainty the Legates Muse a Prtt to Pui led lot. They want to win and Ould rather win with Nixon hem Rockefeller because they eel More at Home with Nixon wit they can t escape the gnaw "9 doubt will Nixon win for Ern the polls Are against him a Hie mood even among by of his supporters is some what grudging. They will Swal a a if they feel they to mainly because he can 1 More votes outside the party. A rally the dramatic pres ence at the convention is not of the two major candidates but of three others John Lindsay who is too Strong Medicine for 1968 but is a portent of 1972 Ronald Reagan who is the secret love of More delegates than dare acknowledge it and the Man who in t there Wallace. If the delegates obey the pull toward the big City suburban and Industrial states vote with the emphasis on peace in Viet Nam and a massive Aid program for the cities Rockefeller is their Man. That is where the America of the future is going and Lind say s presence at Miami is a vibrant reminder of it. If the delegates obey the other pull which Wallace is exploiting through his own party from an America which is in recoil against the violence in the City streets and cares More about that than about the violence in Viet Nam then logically Reagan could be their Man but Nixon will do. Nixon s own strategy is characteristic of him. Given the horns of a dilemma he swallows both. Given two roads leading in Dif Ferent directions he travels both. His new stand on Vietnam is Coyer than Rockefeller a and not As dovish but Only a Little less so. He does t want to Buck Eugene Mccarthy nor even Hubert Humphrey on the peace Issue. His stand on the ghetto Blacks is to Tell them to develop their own business Enterprise. His stand on Law and order is Rea Ganish and meant to head off Wallace. Is this directed toward the South Only partly. Nixon knows what the Young Republican Liber als in the Ripon society have been saying that the South is Wallace a that even if it were Nixon a it would not elect him any More than it elected Barry Goldwater and that no Republican can win without the sub Urban City Northern Industrial states including California. He is doubtless counting on another Way than the Rockefeller Way of getting at these crucial electoral votes the Way of recoil poli tics not by wooing the backlash vote ardently but by counting on the largely silent vote com ing to him. It May prove a smart strategy at least at Miami Beach in the summer. Will it prove equally smart in the nation in novem Ber the danger with smart men is that they often outsmart them selves. C 196s, new Day inc. Yes sir landslides Cost a Little More 270 electoral votes needed 4 parties May put election in House Clayton Fritchey Washington has a new pastime figuring out novel ways of saving the Republic from an inequitable if not scandal Ous Resolution of the presiden tial election As suming no Candi Date wins a majority of the electoral vote. It now seems increasingly cer Tain that in this most Uncertain of election years there will be not three but four parties con tending for the presidency with result mat May add to the shocks the country has already absorbed. George Wallace s amt ican in dependent party already is on the ballot in several states and it now seems probable that the new peace party will Al of be running candidates in key states. Between them they would have a Good Chance to win from 100 to 200 electoral votes possibly More out of a total of 538. Consequently the emerging peace party has revived concern Over the threat of the election being forced into the House of representatives through no candidate getting a majority of 270 or More electoral votes. In the ensuing Wheeling and dealing the front running candidate could easily have his popular Victory snatched away from him. The most discussed proposal for circumventing such an out opinions processed in the Way to a considered a representing the View of the Star and Stripe itself or of us United Sucu come Calls for a compact be tween the two major parties which would bind them to sup port the election of the Candi Date with the largest popular vote assuming the election is forced into the House. To test the Appeal and the practicality of this proposition i have for some time starting be fore president Johnson announced his retirement on March 31 been canvassing the leaders of the major parties for their views. I have heard from both the majority and minority Lead ers of the Senate from the speaker and the minority Leader of the House the National chair men of the Republican and democratic National committees and other key political figures such As sen. Thruston Morton r-ky., former Republican National chairman and Larry o Brien who recently retired As the postmaster general. Some of the replies were confidential most were not. There seemed to be a Broad awareness and concern Over the possibility of an electoral stale mate although before the threat of the peace party some of the most respected professionals did not think Wallace alone could bring it about. The greatest consensus of All is that the . Needs to Reform its presidential election system. I think we must find a Means says o Brien of doing away with the Opportunity now afforded the irresponsible elector to act As if he were in fact rather than in Long outmoded theory an Independent to 196
